Does your school have a hard time with the "all or nothing" approach to remaining silent on the Day of Silence? Do students feel that they have to compromise themselves because of teacher inflexibility? Do teachers struggle with honoring the intention of DOS but needing to run a class? 

Common Ground High School came up with an innovative way to respect the point of this day while making it easier for people to participate.  They assigned different colors for different types of participation, so students and teachers could wear the color that worked for them.  It looked like this:   

Wearing Color A meant that, as a student, you were going to remain silent all day in all classes and not participate in class work; for a teacher, it meant that you would respect these students' decisions in class.

Wearing Color B meant that, as a student, you were going to remain silent but were willing to do written work in class; as a teacher, it meant that you were willing to prepare a lesson plan that included an option for written work only.

Wearing Color C meant that, as a student or teacher, you were willing to observe the silence between classes, just not during a class.

Wearing Color D meant for both students and teachers that you honored the significance of the day but felt most comfortable participating in or providing a regular class.

Think about your own school culture - what kind of flexibility works best?  There is no right or wrong here - that's the beauty of it.  Whatever you decide, your intention still honors the Day of Silence and, even better, makes it possible for more people to move towards an action in support of the day.  And you have moved your school's culture towards consensus.

What do you do in your school?  Let me know!

Joy Lenters

Hello, GSA folks -- So great to see all of you at True Colors!  Everyone has been so generous in sharing ideas.  Here's another great idea that I heard at the Conference from Common Ground High School in New Haven.